Interconnect structure for stacked device and method

ABSTRACT

A stacked integrated circuit (IC) device and a method are disclosed. The stacked IC device includes a first semiconductor element and a second semiconductor element bonded on the first semiconductor element. The first semiconductor element includes a first substrate, a common conductive feature in the first substrate, a first inter-level dielectric (ILD) layer, a first interconnection feature and a conductive plug connecting the first interconnection feature to the common conductive feature. The second semiconductor element includes a second substrate, a second ILD layers over the second substrate and a second interconnection feature in second ILD layers. The device also includes a conductive deep plug connecting to the common conductive feature in the first semiconductor element and the second interconnection feature. The conductive deep plug is separated with the conductive plug by the first ILD layer.

The present application is a divisional application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 13/898,641 filed on May 21, 2013 now U.S. Pat. No. 9,356,066,which claims the benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 61/794,847 filed Mar. 15,2013, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapidgrowth. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., thenumber of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increasedwhile geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can becreated using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling downprocess generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiencyand lowering associated costs.

As semiconductor technologies further advance, a stacked IC device hasemerged as an effective alternative to further reduce the physical sizeof a semiconductor device. In a stacked IC device, active circuits suchas logic, memory, processor circuits and the like are fabricated ondifferent semiconductor wafers. Two or more semiconductor wafers may beinstalled on top of one another to further reduce the form factor of theIC device. For example, two semiconductor wafers may be bonded togetherthrough suitable bonding techniques. One advantageous feature of astacked IC device is that a higher density can be achieved. Althoughexisting stacked semiconductor devices and methods of fabricatingstacked IC devices have been generally adequate for their intendedpurposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.Improvements in this area are desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasizedthat, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, variousfeatures are not drawn to scale and are used for illustration purposesonly. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarilyincreased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a stacked integrated circuit (IC)device according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an example method for fabricating a stacked ICdevice according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3-9 are cross-sectional views of an example stacked IC device atfabrication stages constructed according to the method of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the disclosure.Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below tosimplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examplesand are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of afirst feature over or on a second feature in the description thatfollows may include embodiments in which the first and second featuresare formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in whichadditional features may be formed between the first and second features,such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,”“above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of thedevice in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over,elements described as being “below” or “beneath” other elements orfeatures would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features.Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein may likewise be interpreted accordingly.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a stacked IC device 400 prior to abonding process, according to various aspects of the present disclosure.FIG. 1 has been simplified for the sake of clarity to better illustratethe inventive concepts of the present disclosure. The stacked IC device400 includes a first semiconductor wafer 100 stacked on top of a secondsemiconductor wafer 200. For example, the first semiconductor wafer 100includes an image sensor, such as a backside illuminated (BSI) imagesensor, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor(CIS), a charge-coupled device (CCD), an active-pixel sensor (APS), or apassive-pixel sensor. An image sensor may be fabricated by complementarymetal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process techniques known in the art.For example, a p-type photo active region and an n-type photo activeregion are formed over a substrate of the image sensor wafer to form aPN junction, which functions as a photodiode. The image sensor wafer 100may include a transistor to generate a signal related to the intensityor brightness of light that impinges on the photo active region. Thesecond semiconductor wafer 200 is an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) wafer.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first semiconductor wafer 100 (shown in anupside down position) includes a substrate 102 having a first surface103 and a second surface 104. In some embodiments, the substrate 102includes an elementary semiconductor such as silicon or germanium and/ora compound semiconductor, such as silicon germanium, silicon carbide,gallium arsenic, indium arsenide, gallium nitride, and indium phosphide.Other exemplary substrate materials include alloy semiconductors, suchas silicon germanium carbide, gallium arsenic phosphide, and galliumindium phosphide. The substrate 102 may also comprise non-semiconductormaterials including soda-lime glass, fused silica, fused quartz, calciumfluoride (CaF₂), and/or other suitable materials. In some embodiments,the substrate 102 has one or more layers defined within it, such as anepitaxial layer. For example, in one such embodiment, the substrate 102includes an epitaxial layer overlying a bulk semiconductor. Otherlayered substrates include semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrates.In one such SOI substrate, the substrate 102 includes a buried oxide(BOX) layer formed by a process such as separation by implanted oxygen(SIMOX). In various embodiments, the substrate 102 may take the form ofa planar substrate, a fin, a nanowire, and/or other forms known to oneof skill in the art.

The substrate 102 may include one or more doped regions. In the depictedembodiment, the substrate 102 is doped with a p-type dopant. Suitablep-type dopants include boron, gallium, indium, other suitable p-typedopants, and/or combinations thereof. The substrate 102 may also includeone or more regions doped with an n-type dopant such as phosphorus,arsenic, other suitable n-type dopants, and/or combinations thereof.Doping may be implemented using a process such as ion implantation ordiffusion in various steps and techniques.

In various embodiments, the substrate 102 may take a form of a planarsubstrate, a fin, a nanowire, and/or other forms known to one of skillin the art.

The first semiconductor wafer 100 may include various passive and activemicroelectronic components. These components may include a primarycomponent 105, such as an image sensor element and a peripheral circuitelement 106, such as one or more field effect transistor. Other examplesinclude P-channel field effect transistors (PFETs), N-channel FETs(NFETs), metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs),CMOS transistors, FinFETs, high voltage transistors, high frequencytransistors, bipolar junction transistors, resistors, capacitors,diodes, fuses, other suitable devices, and/or combinations thereof. Insome embodiments, the peripheral circuit element 106 is operable tointerface with or control the image sensor element 105. Although, infurther embodiments, the peripheral circuit element 106 has nofunctional relationship to the primary element 105 aside from beingcollocated on the same substrate 102.

The first semiconductor wafer 100 includes a first inter-leveldielectric (ILD) layer 107 formed over the first surface 103 of thesubstrate 102 for isolation purpose. The first ILD layer 107 may includesilicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, TEOS oxide,phosphosilicate glass (PSG), borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG),fluorinated silica glass (FSG), carbon doped silicon oxide, amorphousfluorinated carbon, Parylene, polyimide, other suitable material, and/orcombinations thereof. Common methods for forming ILD layer includethermal oxidation, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), high-density plasmaCVD (HDP-CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), atomic layer deposition(ALD), spin-on deposition, and/or other suitable deposition processes.The first ILD layer 107 may include multiple layers made by differentdielectric materials.

The first semiconductor wafer 100 includes first interconnectionfeatures 108 formed on the substrate 102 and configured to properlyconnect various doped regions in the substrate 102, resulting in afunctional designed circuit. For example, the first interconnectionfeatures 108 include multi-layer interconnect (MLI) having horizontalmetal lines formed on multiple metal layers and contact/via features tovertically connect metal lines of different metal layers or metal linelines to the substrate 102. The first interconnect features 108 areformed by an integrated process including deposition, lithography andetch.

In the present embodiment, a conductive plug 110 is formed over thesubstrate 102 such that one end of it connecting to the firstinterconnection feature 108 and another end of it connecting to thesubstrate 102. The conductive plug 110 can be made by conductivematerials such as materials such as copper, aluminum,aluminum/silicon/copper alloy, titanium, titanium nitride, tungsten,polysilicon, metal silicide, and/or combinations thereof. The conductiveplug 110 can be formed by a procedure including lithography, etch anddeposition. As an example, prior to forming the first interconnectionfeature 108, a trench is formed in the first ILD layer 107 bylithography and etch processed. Then the trench is filled by aconductive material to form the conductive plug 110. And then the firstinterconnection feature 108 is formed on top of the conductive plug 110.

Additional features can be incorporated into the first semiconductorwafer 100 and some of the features described above can be replaced oreliminated for other embodiments of the first semiconductor wafer 100.

The second semiconductor wafer 200 can include similar or differentelements, as compared to the first semiconductor wafer 100. For example,the second semiconductor wafer 200 includes a substrate 202 withsurfaces 203 and 204, a primary element 205, a peripheral element 206,ILD layers 207, and interconnection features 208.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method 300 for forming a stacked IC deviceaccording to aspects of the present disclosure. FIGS. 3-9 arecross-sectional views of an example stacked IC device 400 undergoingprocesses according to the method of FIG. 2. It is understood thatadditional steps can be provided before, during, and after the method,and some of the steps described can be replaced or eliminated for otherembodiments of the method.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the method 300 begins at step 302 by bondingthe first and second semiconductor wafers, 100 and 200, together throughsuitable bonding techniques such as direct bonding. In some embodiments,a plurality of bonding pads are formed in the first semiconductor wafer100 and the second semiconductor wafer 200 respectively. Furthermore,the bonding pads located at the second semiconductor wafer 200 arealigned face-to-face with their corresponding bonding pads located atthe first semiconductor wafer 100. In accordance with some embodiments,in a direct bonding process, the connection between the first and secondsemiconductor wafers 100 and 200 can be implemented throughmetal-to-metal bonding (e.g., copper-to-copper bonding),dielectric-to-dielectric bonding (e.g., oxide-to-oxide bonding),metal-to-dielectric bonding (e.g., copper-to-oxide bonding), or anycombination thereof. In some embodiment, the first and secondsemiconductor wafers, 100 and 200, are connected to each other throughsuitable three-dimensional structures. An adhesion layer may also beused.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the method 300 proceeds to step 304 byforming a substrate trench 120 in the substrate 102. The substratetrench 120 is formed such that the first ILD layer 107 and at least aportion of the conductive plug 110 are exposed. The substrate trench 120may be formed by lithography and etch processes. As an example, apatterned photoresist layer is formed over the substrate 102 byprocesses of spin-on coating, exposure and developing. Then substrate102 is etched through the patterned photoresist. The etching process mayinclude a dry etching process, a wet etching process, and/or combinationthereof. The etching process may also include a selective wet etch or aselective dry etch. Example wet etching solutions include atetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), a HF/HNO3/CH3COOH solution, orother suitable solution. An example dry etching processes may include abiased plasma etching process that uses a chlorine-based chemistry.Other example dry etchant gasses include CF4, NF3, SF6, and He. In someembodiments, a selective etch is performed with adequate etchselectivity with respect to the first ILD layer 107 and the conductiveplug 110. In that case the first ILD layer 107 serves as an etch-stoplayer to improve etching process window.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, the method 300 proceeds to step 306 byforming an isolation layer 130 over the second surface 104 of thesubstrate 102 including sidewalls of the substrate trench 120. Theisolation layer 130 provides an electric isolation sealing to thesubstrate 102. The isolation layer 130 may include dielectric materialssuch as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, polyimide,or other suitable materials. The isolation layer 130 can be formed byCVD, PVD, ALD, and/or other suitable deposition processes. In oneembodiment, another lithography and etch processes are performed toremove the isolation layer 130 at the bottom of the substrate trench120. With the isolation layer 130 on the sidewalls, the substrate trench120 has a first width w₁.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 6, the method 300 proceeds to step 308 byforming a patterned mask 140 having deep-interconnect-trench (DIT)openings 145 with a second width w₂ and aligning to the substrate trench120. The patterned mask 140 may be a photoresist layer. The patternedmask 140 is formed on top of the second surface 104 using suitabledeposition and photo lithography techniques. In present embodiment, theDIT openings 145 align with the corresponding second interconnectionfeature 208 located in the second semiconductor wafer 200 and having adistance d away from the conductive plug 109 in the first ILD layer 107.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 7, the method 300 proceeds to step 310 byforming first DITs 150 from the first semiconductor wafer 100 to thesecond interconnection feature 208 in the second semiconductor wafer200. The first DITs 150 may be formed by etching the first ILD layer 107in the first semiconductor wafer 100 and the second ILD layer 207 in thesecond semiconductor wafer 200 through the DIT openings 145. The DITs150 are formed with a width which is substantially similar to the secondwidth w₂ of the DIT openings 145. A suitable etching process includes adry etch, an anisotropic wet etch, or any other suitable anisotropicetch.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 8, the method 300 proceeds to step 312 byremoving the patterned mask 140 to form second DITs 155. As an example,the patterned photoresist mask 140 is removed by a process such as wetstripping or O₂ plasma ashing. In one embodiment, the second DITs 155 isformed to have the substrate trench 120 as an upper portion with thefirst width w₁ and the first DIT 150 as a lower portion with the secondwidth w₂. Also, the conductive plug 110 is exposed in the upper portionof the second DITs 155.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 9, the method 300 proceeds to step 314 byfilling in the second DITs 155 with conductive materials to formdeep-interconnect-plugs (DIPs) 160. The DIPs 160 includehighly-conductive, low-resistive metal, elemental metal, transitionmetal, or the like. For example, the DIPs 160 include copper, copperalloy, such as copper magnesium (CuMn), copper aluminum (CuAl) or coppersilicon (CuSi), although other materials, such as tungsten, aluminumcould alternatively be utilized. The DIPs 160 may be formed by anysuitable method known in the art such as PVD, sputter, CVD,electroplating and/or the like. In one embodiment, the DIP 160s arefurther surrounded by a barrier layer to prevent diffusion and/orprovide material adhesion. The barrier layer may include titaniumnitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), tungsten nitride (WN), titaniumsilicon nitride (TiSiN) or tantalum silicon nitride (TaSiN). The DIPs160 is formed with an upper portion having the first width w₁ and alower portion having the second width w₂. Additionally, a chemicalmechanical polishing (CMP) may be applied to remove the conductivematerial for planarization effect if a desired topography is needed.

In the present embodiment, the upper portion of the DIP 160 connectswith the substrate plug 110 (the first semiconductor wafer 100) and thelow portion of the DIP 160 (the second semiconductor wafer 200)separately, the upper portion of the DIP 160 is referred to as a commonconductive feature 170 for the first and second semiconductor wafers.The common conductive feature 170 has the first width w₁. The lowerportion of the DIP 160 is referred to as a conductive deep-plug 180 andhas the second width w₂. The w₁ is substantially larger than w₂. Theconductive deep-plug 180 is separated to the substrate plug 110 with thedistance d in the first ILD layer 107.

It should be noted that while FIG. 9 illustrates two semiconductorwafers stacked together, one skilled in the art will recognize that thestacked IC device shown in FIG. 9 is merely an example. There may bemany alternatives, variations and modifications. For example, thestacked IC device may accommodate more than two wafers.

Based on the above, the present disclosure offers a stacked IC deviceemploying an interconnection structure to provide electronic connectionamong two semiconductor wafers and fabrication. The interconnectionstructure is configured that both first and second semiconductor waferconnect individually to a common conductive feature in the first wafer.The first semiconductor wafer connects to the common conductive featureby a conductive plug formed in the first semiconductor wafer while thesecond semiconductor wafer connects to the common conductive feature byanother conductive plug traveling through both of the first and aportion of second semiconductor wafers. The interconnection structuremay provide electric interconnections between two semiconductor waferswith a shorter connection length, a denser interconnection featurelayout and a reduced aspect ratio of the conductive plug.

The present disclosure provides many different embodiments of a stackedIC device. The stacked IC device includes a first wafer and a secondwafer bonded on the first wafer. The first wafer includes a firstsubstrate, a common conductive feature in the first substrate, aplurality of first interconnect components formed in first inter-leveldielectric (ILD) layers over the first substrate, a firstinterconnection feature in first ILD layers and a conductive plugconnecting the first interconnection feature to the common conductivefeature. The second wafer includes a second substrate, a plurality ofsecond interconnect components formed in second ILD layers over thesecond substrate and a second interconnection feature in second ILDlayers. The device also includes a conductive deep plug connecting tothe common conductive feature in the first wafer and the secondinterconnection feature in the second wafer. The conductive deep plug isseparated with the conductive plug by the first ILD layer.

In another embodiment, a stacked IC device includes a firstsemiconductor wafer. The first semiconductor wafer includes a firstinterconnection feature and a conductive plug connecting to the firstinterconnection feature. The stacked IC device also includes a secondsemiconductor wafer bonded on the first semiconductor wafer. The secondsemiconductor wafer includes a second interconnection feature. Thestacked IC device also includes a conductive deep plug coupled betweenthe first and second interconnection feature. The conductive deep plugincludes an upper portion connecting to the conductive plug in the firstsemiconductor wafer and a lower portion connective to the secondinterconnection feature in the second semiconductor wafer.

In yet another embodiment, a method for fabricating a stacked IC deviceincludes providing a first semiconductor wafer. The first semiconductorwafer includes a first substrate, a first inter-level dielectric (ILD)layer over the first substrate, a first interconnection feature in thefirst ILD layer and a conducive plug in the first ILD layer. Theconductive plug connects with the first substrate and the firstinterconnection feature. The method also includes bonding the firstsemiconductor wafer on a second semiconductor wafer. The secondsemiconductor wafer includes a second substrate, a second inter-leveldielectric (ILD) layer over the second substrate and a secondinterconnection feature in the second ILD layers. The method alsoincludes forming a substrate trench in the first substrate to expose theconductive plug and the first ILD layer, depositing a dielectricisolation layer over the first substrate and sidewalls of the substratetrench, then removing the dielectric isolation layer from a bottom ofthe substrate trench to expose the first ILD layer, forming adeep-interconnection-trench (DIT) pattern mask in the substrate trench,etching the first ILD and a portion of the second ILD through the DITpattern mask to form a first DIT connecting to the secondinterconnection feature, removing the patterned mask to form a secondDIT and filling the second DIT with conductive materials to form aconductive deep plug to couple the first and second semiconductorwafers.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that thoseskilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the presentdisclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they mayreadily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifyingother processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/orachieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein.Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalentconstructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, andalterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: bonding a firstsemiconductor substrate having a first dielectric layer disposedthereover to a second semiconductor substrate having a second dielectriclayer disposed thereover, wherein a first interconnection feature and aconductive plug are disposed within the first dielectric layer and asecond interconnection feature is disposed within the second dielectriclayer, wherein the conductive plug physically contacts the firstinterconnection feature and the first semiconductor substrate; removinga portion of the first semiconductor substrate to form a first trenchthat extends through the first semiconductor substrate to expose aportion of the first dielectric layer; forming a first material layerwithin the first trench; removing the exposed portion of the firstdielectric layer and a portion of the second dielectric layer to form asecond trench extending to the second interconnection feature; removingthe first material layer from the first trench; and forming a conductivematerial within the first trench and the second trench.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the conductive plug is exposed within the first trenchafter the removal of the portion of the first semiconductor substrate toform the first trench that extends through the first semiconductorsubstrate to expose the portion of the first dielectric layer.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein forming the first material layer within thefirst trench includes forming the first material layer directly on theconductive plug such that the conductive plug is covered by the firstmaterial layer.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming asecond material layer within the first trench prior to forming the firstmaterial layer, and wherein forming the first material layer within thefirst trench includes forming the first material layer over the secondmaterial layer.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein forming the conductivematerial within the first trench and the second trench includes formingthe conductive material directly on the second material layer.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the conductive material disposed within thefirst trench has a first width and the conductive material disposedwithin the second trench has a second width that is different than thefirst width.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the conductive materialdisposed within the first trench forms a common conductive feature andthe conductive material disposed within the second trench forms aconductive deep plug, and wherein the common conductive feature isdisposed directly over the first interconnection feature, the secondinterconnection feature, the conductive plug, and the conductive deepplug such that a bottom surface of the common conductive featureoverlaps the first interconnection feature, the second interconnectionfeature, the conductive plug, and the conductive deep plug, the bottomsurface of the common conductive feature facing the second semiconductorsubstrate.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein after removing the exposedportion of the first dielectric layer and the portion of the seconddielectric layer to form the second trench extending to the secondinterconnection feature, the first material layer remains disposedwithin the first trench.
 9. A method comprising: bonding a firstsemiconductor substrate to a second semiconductor substrate, wherein afirst dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer are disposedbetween the first and second semiconductor substrates, wherein a firstinterconnection feature and a conductive plug are disposed within thefirst dielectric layer and a second interconnection feature is disposedwithin the second dielectric layer, wherein the conductive plugphysically contacts the first interconnection feature and the firstsemiconductor substrate; patterning the first semiconductor substrate toform a first trench that extends through the first semiconductorsubstrate to expose the conductive plug; forming a patterned mask layerwithin the first trench; removing a portion of the first dielectriclayer and a portion of the second dielectric layer through the firsttrench to form a second trench extending to the second interconnectionfeature; removing the patterned mask layer from the first trench toexpose the conductive plug; and forming a conductive material within thefirst trench and the second trench such that conductive materialphysically contacts the conductive plug and the second interconnectionfeature.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first dielectric layerextends from the conductive plug to the conductive material disposedwithin the second trench.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprisingforming an isolation layer within the first trench prior to forming thepatterned mask layer within the first trench.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the isolation layer is disposed within the first trench whenforming the conductive material within the first trench and the secondtrench such that conductive material physically contacts the conductiveplug and the second interconnection feature.
 13. The method of claim 9,wherein the conductive material disposed within the first trench forms acommon conductive feature and the conductive material disposed withinthe second trench forms a conductive deep plug, and wherein the commonconductive feature is disposed directly over the first interconnectionfeature, the second interconnection feature, the conductive plug, andthe conductive deep plug such that a bottom surface of the commonconductive feature overlaps the first interconnection feature, thesecond interconnection feature, the conductive plug, and the conductivedeep plug, the bottom surface of the common conductive feature facingthe second semiconductor substrate.
 14. The method of claim 9, whereinthe conductive material disposed within the first trench has a firstwidth and the conductive material disposed within the second trench hasa second width that is less than the first width.
 15. The method ofclaim 9, wherein after removing the portion of the first dielectriclayer and the portion of the second dielectric layer through the firsttrench to form the second trench extending to the second interconnectionfeature, the patterned mask layer remains disposed within the firsttrench.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein forming the patterned masklayer within the first trench includes forming the patterned mask layerover the first semiconductor substrate, and wherein the patterned masklayer remains disposed over the first semiconductor substrate whileremoving the portion of the first dielectric layer and the portion ofthe second dielectric layer through the first trench to form the secondtrench extending to the second interconnection feature.
 17. A methodcomprising: providing a first semiconductor element, the firstsemiconductor element including: a first substrate; a first inter-leveldielectric (ILD) layer over the first substrate; a first interconnectionfeature in the first ILD layer; and a conductive plug in the first ILDlayer, wherein the conductive plug connecting with the first substrateand the first interconnection feature, wherein the conductive plugphysically contacts the first interconnection feature and the firstsubstrate; bonding the first semiconductor element on a secondsemiconductor element, wherein the second semiconductor elementcomprises: a second substrate; a second inter-level dielectric (ILD)layer over the second substrate; and a second interconnection feature inthe second ILD layers; forming a substrate trench in the first substrateto expose the conductive plug and the first ILD layer; depositing adielectric isolation layer over the first substrate and sidewalls of thesubstrate trench; removing the dielectric isolation layer from a bottomof the substrate trench to expose the first ILD layer; forming adeep-interconnection-trench (DIT) pattern mask in the substrate trench;etching the first ILD layer and the second ILD layer through the DITpattern mask to form a first DIT connecting to the secondinterconnection feature; removing the patterned mask to form a secondDIT having the substrate trench as an upper portion and the first DIT asa lower portion; and filling the second DIT with conductive materials toform a conductive deep plug to couple the first and second semiconductorelements.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the substrate trench isformed by processes of lithography and selective etching with adequateetch selectivity with respect to the first ILD layer.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the first ILD layer serves as an etch-stop-layer. 20.The method of claim 17, wherein a width of the upper portion of theconductive deep plug is larger than a width of the lower portion.